


Get Your Heart Racing

by Linsky



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: F/F, Fake Dating, First Kiss, Genderswap, female!Jamie, female!Tyler, female!everyone, light homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-18 16:09:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20641952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linsky/pseuds/Linsky
Summary: “Okay. I’m gonna train you,” Tyler says decisively.“Hm?” Jamie has lost the thread of the conversation.“At dating.” Tyler gives her a dimpled smile. “I’m gonna take you out.”





	Get Your Heart Racing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).

> A million thanks to Corlaire (Yabbat) for donating to an awesome cause through [Pencils in the Margin](http://pencilsinthemargin.co.uk)!
> 
> This takes place vaguely in my all-female NHL AU, but it stands alone. Hope you enjoy. :D
> 
> (always [tumblin'](https://linskywords.tumblr.com))

Jamie knows that one of the trade-offs of being in the NHL is that she can never date other women. She’s pretty okay with that. Like, if she were just gay, it would be a bigger problem—but she’s bi, so it’s not a big deal to just date men instead.

Although honestly that’s pretty theoretical, since what she seems to be best at is not dating anybody.

“You can’t be bad at dating,” Tyler says. She’s drying her hair post-practice. “It’s not a thing you can be bad at.”

“No, believe me,” Jamie says.

“It’s just, like, going to restaurants with people and having fun,” Tyler says. “I’ve seen you do that. I know your skills.”

“It’s…more than that,” Jamie says, watching Tyler’s blond highlights gleam and shift as she combs through them with her fingers. She doesn’t know how to describe it: how hard it is to make conversation with strangers, how self-conscious she feels.

Tyler probably wouldn’t get it, anyway. She’s good at dating: all she has to do is smile at someone and they get all charmed, and then she talks to them and they _stay_ charmed, because Tyler is a legitimately charming person. And it probably doesn’t hurt that she has the most perfect body Jamie’s ever seen. Like, Jamie’s pretty sure bodies like that aren’t supposed to exist outside of Photoshop. There is literally no reason anyone in the world wouldn’t want to date Tyler.

Jamie, on the other hand—she knows she’s not ugly or anything. But the whole package is just…way less good than what Tyler brings to the table. Dating for her is a completely different thing.

“Okay. I’m gonna train you,” Tyler says decisively.

“Hm?” Jamie has lost the thread of the conversation.

“At dating. I’m gonna take you out.” Tyler turns toward her, cheeks dimpling. “Give you the whole Tyler experience. I promise you’ll be good at it.”

“Um. Okay. Sure,” Jamie says. That—wasn’t what she expected to happen in this conversation, but okay.

***

Jordie laughs at Jamie the whole time she’s getting ready for her date. Her non-date. Her dating training session.

“Let me get this clear—Tyler’s taking you out on a date, to teach you how to date _guys_?” Jordie says, her smirk not very well hidden.

“Of course, guys,” Jamie says. “Who else would I be dating?”

Jordie just looks at her. Jordie’s already said enough times that she feels like Jamie should be allowed to date both guys and girls—that Jamie should at least be able to come out to the rest of the team. But Jordie’s not the one who’d be on the front page of every sports section and headlining every blog for weeks if the secret went public. Jamie doesn’t want that. She just…wants to play.

She just wants to find something in her closet that looks like it could be worn on a date. Good grief.

“Wear the gray dress,” Jordie says.

“The gray dress is too boring,” Jamie says.

“No, it’s not. Here.” Jordie shoves it at her, hanger and all.

Jamie puts it on. It’s just a little…she presses her hands to her hips, to her chest. She knows a big chest is supposed to be good, but hers always seems like it’s _too_ big. Like it’s flipped back over to being a bad thing. “I don’t think it fits very well.”

“It fits super well. Come on,” Jordie says. “Your phone just buzzed. You’re gonna be late for your non-date with Tyler.”

Right. This isn’t even a real date. It doesn’t matter what Jamie looks like. But she glances at the mirror a few more times before she makes it out the door.

***

Tyler’s waiting by her car when Jamie finally makes it out of the house. She’s wearing a red dress with a swirly skirt, her hair tumbling over her shoulders in loose curls. She looks like she belongs on a magazine cover. Which, in fact, has happened before.

The ESPN body shoot is not something Jamie should be thinking about right now. Or ever, probably.

She straightens up and comes up the walk when Jamie comes out. “Sorry I’m late,” Jamie says. “I had to—well, you know. Not get pretty, but.”

“Are you kidding?” Tyler puts her hand on Jamie’s arm. “You look awesome. Are you wearing highlighter?”

“It’s Jordie’s,” Jamie mumbles. Tyler’s face is really close to hers, eyes bright. Jamie wants to duck away. Jamie knows a lot of people look at her every day, every game, cameras always pointed, but she’s usually playing hockey or talking about hockey and that makes it not feel like a big deal. One of the tough things about being friends with Tyler is how sometimes she’ll look at you and be really focused. Like she’s really seeing _you._

Jamie doesn’t want Tyler to see too much of her. She doesn’t want Tyler to change her mind about Jamie being worth teaching.

“You, um.” Jamie tries to raise her head, not mumble, all the stuff she knows she does when she feels awkward, but it’s hard. “You look good, too.” Understatement of the century. “I mean, I know it’s not a real date, but—”

“No, no, come on,” Tyler says. “You gotta pretend it is a real date. That’s the whole point, right?”

“I guess,” Jamie says. She’s not sure how it’ll help anyway. She feels like she’s going to spend the whole evening being reminded why someone like her doesn’t get to date someone like Tyler.

“Good.” Tyler hooks her arm through Jamie’s, which seems like it should be a totally dumb cheesy thing, but it isn’t at all when she does it. “Thanks for going out with me,” she says, grinning up at Jamie. “I’ve been looking forward to it all day.”

It’s not real, obviously—it’s just part of the pretend date. But Jamie’s stomach flutters treacherously. This is gonna be tough.

***

Tyler takes her to a steakhouse across town, one Jamie hasn’t been to before. “See, you totally know how to do this,” Tyler says while they wait for the hostess to seat them, when they’ve been having a conversation about Tyler’s sister’s new boyfriend. 

“I mean, with you,” Jamie says. She feels like there are eyes on her, and she wonders if people are thinking it’s weird that Tyler’s with someone so far below her league. But no, they’re both women. Probably no one who sees them assumes that they could be on a real date at all.

“Yeah, that’s why you practice with me.” Tyler hooks her arm through Jamie’s again. “I’m safe.”

Maybe, Jamie thinks. Tyler doesn’t feel very safe at the moment. But it does feel way better to be here with Tyler than with someone she doesn’t know.

They’re shown to their table, and Tyler pulls her chair out for her. Then she orders them a bottle of wine, checking with Jamie on what she wants and then getting one of the most expensive bottles, one Jamie would never have thought to get.

“Are we celebrating something tonight?” the waitress asks. She’s smiling at them pleasantly and obviously has no idea who they are.

Tyler looks up at her, dimples popping. “It’s our anniversary,” Tyler says, putting her hand on top of Jamie’s on the table. Jamie gapes at her.

The waitress beams at them. “Congratulations,” she says, and leaves to give them a few more minutes with the menus.

“Why did you, uh,” Jamie says when she manages to find words. “Um. I mean.”

Tyler grins and squeezes her hand. “Hey, might as well have fun with this, right?”

There are a lot of things Jamie could say. There’s the risk of looking like they’re dating in public—but it’s hard to take that seriously. It’s not like anyone would seriously believe that she and Tyler Seguin are in an actual relationship. Jamie’s not sure which one would be a bigger strike against them: the gay thing, or that Tyler is, like, a million miles out of her league.

Tyler’s hand is still on hers. Jamie lets it go on as long as she can bear, and then she pulls her hand away to pick up her menu.

“I thought,” she says. “Um. Isn’t this supposed to be a first date?”

Tyler sticks her tongue out a little. “She’d never believe we just met, come on.”

That’s fair. Jamie would never be able to talk this much to someone she just met.

Her hand is still warm from Tyler’s touch. She curls her other hand around it under the table.

It’s always easy to talk to Tyler. They order, and it feels like no time before their food comes, conversation flowing like it always does between them. Jamie makes Tyler laugh, which is one of her favorite things in the world. Tyler’s whole face lights up with it, her nose crinkling, and it makes Jamie feel like she’s won something.

It’s how a conversation _should_ go on a date, Jamie figures. It’s just hard to imagine a real date feeling like this. The warmth in the air, the comfort.

The restaurant is nice, plenty of space between the tables. “How’d you pick this place, anyway?” Jamie asks while they cut into their steak.

“I went here a couple of months ago with that guy I met at the dog park, the one who was starting the ad agency,” Tyler says.

Jamie doesn’t remember him, but to be fair, Tyler dates a lot. “I’m a better date, though, right?” Jamie says.

She doesn’t know what makes her say it. Maybe it’s the wine, or the way she just made Tyler laugh a couple of minutes ago. It’s a stupid thing to say—but Tyler just grins at her. “Obviously,” she says. “He didn’t even know what a power play is.”

That probably shouldn’t make Jamie feel better. Hockey knowledge is not going to do her much good on the dating circuit in general. Still, though, she’s privately glad to have something Tyler would rather talk about with her than with anyone else.

***

Tyler grabs the check when it comes. “No, come on,” she says when Jamie moves to protest. “It’s a date, remember?”

Jamie wishes it didn’t feel good, when Tyler says things like that. She feels like it’s gonna show, how much she wants to live in this space where she’s actually someone Tyler’s dating. Tyler’s not gonna notice—if nothing else, Jamie’s pretty sure it would never occur to Tyler that it’s even possible to date another girl. But she feels transparent anyway, like people can see her heart beating through her skin.

“I’m on the date, too,” she says.

“Yeah, but I was the one who asked you,” Tyler says. “I got this.” She taps Jamie on the forearm, just a brush of her fingers, and a shiver runs down into Jamie’s center.

If they were on a real date, that might be a promise of things to come. It might mean—Jamie shuts down that line of thought quickly. Imagining is one thing, but she doesn’t want it to go too far.

Tyler only had one glass of wine with dinner, “So that I can drive you home,” she says. Jamie’s going to say something, make some answer, but just then they push through the doors to the parking lot and Tyler takes her hand.

Just—reaches out and takes it. Like it’s nothing. It’s not that big a touch, not much of Jamie’s body at all, but suddenly her mind is spinning its wheels and she can’t think anything at all. She just walks along, muzzy-headed even though she only had two glasses of wine.

She realizes Tyler is looking at her. “What?” she says, tongue thick in her mouth.

“Just,” Tyler says, lips quirking up. “I thought you said you were bad at this.”

Jamie’s heart is going to give out and she’s going to fall down and die in a ditch at the side of the road. “I am,” she mumbles.

“Seemed pretty good tonight,” Tyler says, tugging on their hands.

“No, it’s.” Jamie struggles to put together the scattered wisps of her thoughts. “It’s like I told you. I’m not good with—lots of strangers.”

“Yeah, no, that’s fair,” Tyler says. “You’re probably never gonna date a whole string of guys, like me. You’re the kind of person someone’s gonna fall in love with, and then you won’t need to date anyone else.”

She says it so lightly. Like it’s obviously true.

Yeah, Jamie’s doomed. It’s gonna be a deep, dark ditch, and then the Stars will sue her surviving family members for breach of contract. They’ll have to sue Tyler, for killing her. “Hasn’t happened yet,” Jamie manages to say.

“Give it time,” Tyler says, squeezing her hand, and then they’re at the car, and Jamie gets in, pressing her hands against the heat of her cheeks.

It’s easier when Tyler’s driving, and Jamie can just exist next to her. It feels more like their normal life, driving each other to games and practices. Jamie fiddles with the radio to keep herself busy, and stops on a last-decade pop station when Tyler makes an excited noise about Rihanna.

Tyler sings along with every song even when she doesn’t know the words. It’s ridiculous. “Come on,” Tyler says, “can’t leave me hanging on Teenage Dream. That’s heresy.”

Jamie’s always hated the sound of her own singing voice. But she joins in, as loud as she can, and it’s not as bad when Tyler’s singing even louder and more off-key.

Jamie wonders, in between trying to remember the words to Umbrella, if this is what it would be like if she were on a real date with someone she actually liked. She lets herself pretend for a moment: that this isn’t fake; that she’s on a real date, the best one she’s ever had. That Tyler asked her out because she’s into her, that when Tyler reached across the table and held her hand she meant it.

It’s a dangerous thing to imagine. But—but Jamie’s never gonna have this for real. Even if she were good at dating, it would only be guys, and it wouldn’t be—well. It’s hard to find people she likes as much as Tyler.

“I can’t believe you wouldn’t let me pay for dinner,” she says when there’s a commercial break, and Tyler has to stop singing for a while.

“Hey, I wasn’t gonna take you out and not pay,” Tyler says. “On our anniversary, Benn, come on, what kind of a chump do you think I am?”

Jamie grins despite herself. So easy to pretend, just for a few moments; to let the daydream lick through her stomach. “I didn’t get _you_ anything for our anniversary.”

“Night’s still young,” Tyler says, shooting her a sidelong smile. “Maybe you will.”

The way she says it, Jamie can feel her cheeks heating up again. It’s—no, Tyler is definitely not serious. They aren’t going to practice _that_ part of the date. But Jamie’s stomach does a slow roll anyway at the thought of it.

Her house is dark when Tyler pulls up to it, Jordie long gone home. “Thanks, it’s been,” Jamie starts to say when Tyler parks, but Tyler scoffs at her.

“It’s a date, come on, I’m gonna walk you to your door,” Tyler says.

“Sure,” Jamie says, stomach jumping again.

Tyler’s not gonna take it farther than this. That’s not what people do. She’s just playing things out till the end. She’ll walk Jamie to her door, and then she’ll leave, and then Jamie will be alone. To recover.

Jamie wouldn’t want—Jamie wouldn’t want to practice that part of it, anyway. Not with Tyler. It’s one thing to let yourself pretend for a little bit that your fake date with a teammate is real. It’s another to—yeah. Jamie’s gonna have enough to recover from as it is.

It’s a calming thought. Nothing’s going to happen, and she doesn’t even want anything to happen. Except that when she looks up from finding her keys, turning to tell Tyler goodnight, Tyler’s standing really close to her, leaning in for a kiss.

Jamie jumps back. Not because—she’s just startled. Was that—she must have been imagining it, but no, she saw—

Tyler jumps back, too, her eyes widening in the front-door light. “Sorry,” she says. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s.” Jamie’s pulse is thundering in her head. She wasn’t imagining it. But she can’t believe it.

“I just thought it would be fun, is all, we don’t have to—”

She looks terrified. She looks like she’s about to back up off the porch.

“Hey,” Jamie says, reaching out instinctively and grabbing Tyler’s wrists before Tyler can fall off the edge. Tyler stops backing away, but the tension is still in her body. Jamie can’t see her face at all, now, her head ducked into shadow. “Um, it’s okay. I was just surprised—”

“We really don’t have to,” Tyler says. “I’m so sorry. This part isn’t even—I don’t know what I was—”

She’s babbling. She _is_ terrified. Jamie realizes it slowly, can’t quite believe it. Tyler just tried to kiss her—and she’s terrified about it.

“Hey,” Jamie says, leaning in close. She lets go of Tyler’s wrists and tips her chin up.

Tyler’s eyes are wide and terrified. There’s no humor in her face right now. She’s looking at Jamie like everything might fall apart, like the wrong move right now will break Tyler into pieces.

Jamie leans in and brushes a kiss onto her mouth.

Her stomach swoops down while she does it, like she’s stepping off the edge of a cliff. This could be entirely the wrong move. But it doesn’t _feel_ wrong. It’s that moment when you see a lane open up on the ice and you shoot before your brain even recognizes that you can. Sometimes it doesn’t work—but sometimes, almost before you realize the puck’s left your stick, it sinks into the net, smooth and perfect.

Tyler sucks in a breath and opens her mouth under Jamie’s.

Her hands come up and tangle in Jamie’s hair. Jamie’s internal organs are being tumbled, nothing staying where it was put. Tyler slides her tongue into Jamie’s mouth, and Jamie tilts her head and lets it in, and Tyler sighs and melts along her front.

It’s a long few moments before they break the kiss, both of them breathing hard. Tyler rests her forehead against Jamie’s, her hand around the back of Jamie’s neck. “I didn’t know you wanted that,” she whispers.

“I didn’t know I wanted that either,” Jamie says, even though the knowledge is in her whole body now, running through her veins. She wants that. She wanted that.

“Do you want to, um.” Tyler rubs her nose against Jamie’s cheek. “Go inside? Practice some more?”

“No,” Jamie says, tightening her hands on Tyler’s waist. “I don’t want to _practice_.”

Tyler makes a noise and kisses her again, biting Jamie’s lower lip and making shivers run all through her gut. Jamie’s done this before, with a few people, but it’s never felt like this. Nothing’s ever felt like this.

She thought Tyler wasn’t into women. She’s known Tyler for years now, and she thought she’d have known. But she must have been wrong, because Tyler’s panting and hot-cheeked when Jamie slides their cheeks together, and she moans when Jamie puts her mouth to her neck.

This time when they break the kiss, they’re entirely wrapped up in each other, pausing only for air. The lights have gone off above them, the motion sensor out of range. Jamie holds Tyler in the warm Dallas darkness and can’t believe she gets to do this.

“Hey,” Tyler says, low, in Jamie’s ear. “You want to hear a secret?”

Jamie nods against her. She wants to hear all the secrets.

“I asked you out because I wanted to go out with you,” Tyler whispers.

It shouldn’t be such a surprise. Tyler just kissed her like she’s been wanting it for a while. But it still seems impossible. “Really?” Jamie says before she can think better of it. “_Why_?”

“I told you.” Tyler presses her mouth onto the skin under Jamie’s ear, her breath hot. “You’re good at this.”

Jamie’s not sure about that. She’s definitely not good at dating in general. But maybe—maybe she’s good at Tyler.

Maybe she’s good _with_ Tyler.

“Do you want to come in?” she asks Tyler, and when Tyler nods, Jamie unlocks the door and takes her hand and leads her inside.


End file.
